Hopper closure outlet assembly



May 19, 1964 w. K. FARMER 3,133,509

HoPPER cLosURE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed March 7, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l iirll w @n s@ 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. K. FARMER HOPPER CLOSURE OUTLET ASSEMBLY May 19, 1964 Filed March 7, 1960 May 19, 1964 w. K. FARMER HOPPER cLosuRE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Il rlllfr Filed March 7, 1960 INVENToA Wdamimzef, BY

May 19, 1964 w. K. FARMER 3,133,509

HOPPER CLOSURE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed March '7, 1960 l 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INV EN TOR.

United States Patent 3,133,599 BUFFER CLQSURE UTLET ASBEMBLY William Kendrick Farmer, Chicago, lll., assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, ill., a corporation olllinois Filed Mar. '7, 1960, Sen No. 13,051 3 Claims. (til. idd- 253) rThis invention relates to an improved discharge outlet for a load containing hopper of the type used for handling finely comminuted lading wherein a sliding gate is employed for closing the discharge opening.

The objects of the invention, among others, are: To provide a frame and gate assembly wherein a closure is extended laterally beyond the marginal edges of a discharge opening to present ledges for trapping such lading as may seep between the gate and marginal edges of the hopper and operate as a choke to limit further seepage; to provide a frame having housing means disposed outwardly of the discharge opening for receiving laterally projecting portions of a sliding closure member; to provide a sliding closure having its marginal edges on three sides inclining upwardly and outwardly for litting in with complementary inclined surfaces on an enclosing framework; to provide an outlet assembly including a frame and gate wherein the frame includes an upper section overlying the walls of a hopper and having a lower section including wall means extending outwardly from the sides and end of the upper section and thence downwardly outwardly of the gate to form a three-sided enclosure for the gate; and to provide, in an integral unit, an element for employment in a frame incorporating an open-sided box shaped recess with vertically spaced walls extending at a load shedding angle for receiving a sliding gate therebetween.

A further object of the invention is to provide a frame assembly having an enclosing section for the leading end and sides of a gate, when in closed position, which includes members having angularly related walls with one of said walls sloping outwardly and downwardly above the gate and having the companion wall sloping downwardly and inwardly beneath the gate.

The invention further resides in the details of construction such as will be pointed out hereinafter.

The improved assembly is shown as applied to a railway hopper car of the type commonly known as a covered hopper car.

in said drawings: FIG. l is a transverse sectional view taken through the lower portion of a hopper car showing the improved assembly applied thereto, said view illustrating substantially one half the width of the car.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the outlet assembly shown in FIG. l, as viewed from left to right.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 2 as seen with the hopper walls eliminated and with certain parts broken away to better illustrate the structure.

FIG. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the assembly and on a line 4 4 of FIG. 2.

FlG. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View taken on a line 5--5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a View on an enlarged scale of an integrally formed enclosing section suitable for use with soft metal, such as aluminum, which may be readily formed by the extrusion process.

ICC

In the drawings the improvement is shown as applied to the lower portion of a railway car hopper, said view showing the hopper on one side of the center sill. ln practice the hoppers are usually disposed in transversely aligned relation but inasmuch as the structure ot' the various hoppers is similar, the description herein will be confined to only one of such hoppers.

The car framing structure is generally indicated by a center sill 19 and side wall formed of a plate 11 and a lower marginal reinforcing angle 12. y interposed between tac center sill 1h and side wall 11 is a hopper 13 including inner and outer side walls 14 and 15 which meet with oppositely longitudinally sloping walls 16 and 17 to form a four-sided hopper having a discharge opening 1S. The

opening 1S'is adapted to be closed by a sliding gate 19 which in turn is carried by a frame 20.

The frame Ztl preferably consists of upper and lower sections indicated at 21 and 22 respectively. The upper section includes walls 23, 24, 25 and 26 which overlie the lower portion of walls 14, 15, 16 and 17 respectively, the walls 24, 25 and 26 being inclined downwardly at a slope corresponding to the slope of the hopper walls.

Wall 23 preferably includes a vertically disposed portion 27 and a downwardly sloping lower portion 23. The lower marginal edges of walls Z4, 25, 26 and 28 constitute eaves 29, 3l?, 31 and 32 with which the planar upper surface 33 of gate 19 is adapted to register when in closed position. FIG. 5 shows a slight spacing between these eaves and the gate 19 for illustrative purposes but it will be understood that they are in tight fitting engagement in closed position. The gate 19 at the leading end 19 and at the sides thereof projects well beyond the eaves 29, 30 and 32 of the upper wall sections 241, 25 and 28 when it is moved to its closed position and thus provides laterally projecting ledges as indicated at 34, 35 and 36.

The lower section'of the frame Ztl includes longitudinally extending members 37 and 38 which meet with transversely extending members 39 and dll to form a four-sided chute-like enclosure. The members 37, 3S and 39 include angularly related walls as indicated at 41 and 42. Thewalls 41 are welded at lla to the overlying walls 23, 24 and 2S and slope downwardly and outwardly therefrom andthe walls 42 slope downwardly and inwardly beneath the gate 19.

The said walls 41 and 42, in cooperation with the associated walls 23, 24 and 25 of the upper section 21 of the frame 20, form open-sided box-like recesses 43 for enclosing the projecting ledge portions 34, 35 and 35 of the gate 19.

Supporting rails 44 are carried by the side and end Walls 42 for supporting the gate 19 in its closed position as shown in FIG. 5. Therrails lll on the respective walls 42 are preferably of half round shape. The undersides of the ledges 34, 35 and 36 tangentially engage the underlying semi-circular surfaces of the rails i4 which lie atwise against the inclined upper surfaces of the walls 4Z. There is then a groove or cavity formed along the intersection oi the `upper surface of the wall 42 therealong which is covered by the respectiveledge 34, 35 or 36 when the gate 19 is fully closed as shown inFlG. 5. This construction is particularly advantageous at the leading end 19 of the v gate 19 since it provides a space to which lading lodged on the bearing surface of the rail 44 can be displaced and thus reduce interference with movement of the gate 19 to its fully closed position. A similar effect also is apparent along the side of the gate 19.

The marginal edges of the gate 19 are inclined upwardly and outwardly as indicated at 45, 46 and 47 to present surfaces closely fitting with the complementary inclined surfaces of sloping walls 42. FGS. 4 and 5 show some space therebetween for illustrative purposes but it will be understood that the fit is relatively lading tight when the gate 19 is fully closed.

The inclined walls 42 lead downwardly to present vertically extending wall sections 48 which dene the inner contour of three sides of the four-sided enclosure below the gate 19. The fourth side 40 of the lower enclosure preferably is a plate member flanged at its upper and lower ends as indicated at 49 and 50. The upper flange 49 forms the lower wall of a slotted end opening 51 through which the gate 19 extends and the lower flange i) is extended below the level of the members 37, 3S and 39 to form a recess 52 for a purpose as will be described. The lower margins of said members 37, 38 and 39 are formed with laterally outwardly extending flanges 53, 54 and 55. Cooperating with flange 54 of member 38 is a groove 56 disposed in alignment with recessv 52 thereby providing recesses for receiving adjacent ilanges of a removable extension chute (not shown) which is adapted to be received in said recesses and clamped to the two adjoining flanges 53 and 55.

The wall 26 is preferably reinforced by a bar member 57 and the trailing end 19" of the gate 19 is provided with an upstanding flange member 58 which abuts the under side of the wall 26 when the gate 19 is in closed position as shown in FIG. 5.

Movement of the gate 19 is preferably carried out in conventional manner by a rotatable shaft 59 journaled in bearings 66-60 and having co-engaging pinion and rack means as indicated at 61 and 62. The pinions 61 are non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 59 and the rack means 62 are preferably integrally formed on the underside of the gate 19 in the form of teeth. The shaft 59 is preferably of non-circular section and tted at one end with a circularly shaped sleeve 63 fitting in one of the bearings 6i). At the opposite end the shaft 59 carries an operating socket handle 64 which includes a circularly shaped sleeve portion 65 fitting in the other bearing 60.

The gate 19 in its opened position is supported on extensions 66 and 67 of side members 37 and 38. These extensions include runways 68 and 69 formed by deflecting the webs of members 37 and 38.

For retaining the gate 19 in closed position, a dog 70 is preferably mounted between two plates' 71 and 72 to swing on pivot '70 in the path of movement of the gate 19. The dog 70 is retained in position by an axially movable sealing pin 73. The pin 73 is preferably mounted to slide in plates 74 and 75 and extend through plates 71 and 72 and through the dog 70.

The members 37, 38 and 39 preferably are formed by standard Z-shaped rolled steel sections with the upper flange forming the wall 41 sheared to present a width commensurate with the vertical spacing of the inclined walls 42 of the box shaped recess 43 as formed by the upper part of the Z-section in cooperation with overlying walls 23, 24 and 25.

FIG. 6 shows the cross section shape of a single member 76 that can be used in lieu of the walls 23, 24 and 25 and the Z-shaped walls 37, 38 and 39 welded thereto at 41a. The member 76 has an inclined wall 77 which corresponds to the wall 24, and a section 78 integral therewith which corresponds to the wall 41. Also it has another section 79 at right angles to section 78 which corresponds to the wall 42. There is a flange section 80 that corresponds to the flange 53. A box-like recess 81 is formed between the sections 78 and 79 to receive the corresponding edge of the gate .1.9, The eave 82 is arranged to be juxtaposed to the surface 33 of the gate 19 in closed position. The single member 76 is extruded of a suitable relatively soft metal, such as aluminum. It is cut to the required lengths and welded at the corner junctions to form three sides of the frame 20.

What is claimed as new is:

l. In combination,

(a) a four sided hopper having a discharge opening,

(b) a sliding gate for closing the opening having downwardly facing way engaging surfaces along three sides, and

(c) a frame structure surrounding said opening including upper and lower sections,

(d) said upper section having wall means overlying the hopper walls and having inwardly sloping lower portions disposed with their lower marginal edges of said sloping portions defining said discharge opening and constituting eaves overlying said gate when in closed position, and

(e) said lower section being in the form of a three sided enclosure within which the upper section is nested and including:

(1 longitudinally extending side members,

(2) a transversely extending end member,

(3) said longitudinally and transversely extending members having angularly related wall means disposed with (4) one portion of the angularly related wall means extending at a normal to the sloping upper wall means and welded thereto to form therewith an inverted V-shaped chamber adjacent which the gate extends' when in closed position,

(5) the other portion of said wall means converging inwardly downwardly to extend beneath the gate when in closed position, and

(6) upwardly facing ways carried therealong by said other portion of the inwardly converging wall means for engagement with the downwardly facing way surfaces of the gate thereby providing a seal therealong against the entrance of moisture and escape of lading when the gate is in closed position.

2. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cross section of the lower section is of generally Z-shape with the angularly related wall means forming the upper part of the Z-shape, the lower part of the Z-shape is formed by a horizontal flange, said other portion of said wall means forming a web portion between the flange and said one portion of the Z-shaped angularly related wall means, said web portion extending normal to said one part of the Z-shaped angularly related wall means,

3. In combination,

(a) a four sided hopper having a discharge opening,

(b) a sliding gate for the opening presenting downwardly facing way engaging surfaces, and

(c) a frame surrounding the opening comprising upper and lower sections,

(d) said upper section having wall means overlying and secured to said hopper and having inwardly sloping portions disposed with their lower marginal edges defining said discharge opening and constituting eaves overlying said gate when in closed position, and

(e) said lower section of the frame being in the form of a three sided enclosure within which the upper frame section is nested and including:

(l longitudinally extending side members located along the respective sides of the gate and having:

(2) angularly related wall means disposed with (3) one portion of said wall means extending at a normal to the sloping upper wall means and welded thereto to form therewith an inverted V-shaped chamber adjacent which the gate extends when in closed position, and

(4) the other portion of said angularly related Wall means converging downwardly inwardly beneath the gate, and

(5) upwardly facing ways carried therealong by said other portion of the inwardly converging wall means for engagement with lthe downwardly facing way surfaces of the gate thereby providing a seal therealong against the entrance of moisture and escape of lading when said gate is in closed position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Burnett Apr. 5, 1927 Willoughby Nov. 12, 1935 Dietrichson Nov. 12, 1935 Cartzdafner Aug. 25, 1936 Weniger Apr. 20, 1943 Dorey May 12, 1953 Zimmer Mar. 20, 1956 Dorey Mar. 20, 1956 Dorey July 10, 1956 Dorey Jan. 22, 1957 

1. IN COMBINATION, (A) A FOUR SIDED HOPPER HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING, (B) A SLIDING GATE FOR CLOSING THE OPENING HAVING DOWNWARDLY FACING WAY ENGAGING SURFACES ALONG THREE SIDES, AND (C) A FRAME STRUCTURE SURROUNDING SAID OPENING INCLUDING UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS, (D) SAID UPPER SECTION HAVING WALL MEANS OVERLYING THE HOPPER WALLS AND HAVING INWARDLY SLOPING LOWER PORTIONS DISPOSED WITH THEIR LOWER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID SLOPING PORTIONS DEFINING SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND CONSTITUTING EAVES OVERLYING SAID GATE WHEN IN CLOSED POSITION, AND (E) SAID LOWER SECTION BEING IN THE FORM OF A THREE SIDED ENCLOSURE WITHIN WHICH THE UPPER SECTION IS NESTED AND INCLUDING: (1) LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SIDE MEMBERS (2) A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING END MEMBER, (3) SAID LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING MEMBERS HAVING ANGULARLY RELATED WALL MEANS DISPOSED WITH (4) ONE PORTION OF ANGULARLY RELATED WALL MEANS EXTENDING AT A NORMAL TO THE SLOPING UPPER WALL MEANS AND WELDED THERETO TO FORM THEREWITH AN INVERTED V-SHAPED CHAMBER ADJACENT WHICH THE GATE EXTENDS WHEN IN CLOSED POSITION, (5) THE OTHER PORTION OF SAID WALL MEANS CONVERGING INWARDLY DOWNWARDLY TO EXTEND BENEATH THE GATE WHEN IN CLOSED POSITION, AND (6) UPWARDLY FACING WAYS CARRIED THEREALONG BY SAID OTHER PORTION OF THE INWARDLY CONVERGING WALL MEANS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DOWNWARDLY FACING WAY SURFACES OF THE GATE THEREBY PROVIDING A SEAL THEREALONG AGAINST THE ENTRANCE OF MOISTURE AND ESCAPE OF LADING WHEN THE GATE IS IN CLOSED POSITION. 